Christian is 14!! (December 11, 2015)

Christian my sweet boy!!!

Oh how time just keeps trucking along!!!

1.  He continues to play the piano and he is gaining on me!!

2.  He loves legos.

3.  He loves movies!!! *he doesn't get that from me that one is totally from his dad and mimi!!!

4.  He is truly a sweet sweet boy!

5.  He still gives us a goodnight hug pretty much EVERY night!!
6.  He is a lover of chocolate and cheesecake...but who isn't?!?!

7.  He likes to go hunting with his dad.

8.  He can be quite a serious boy!

9.  But he surprises us with his sense of humor despite his seriousness!

10. He is an awesome big brother. 

11.  He enjoys playing the WII U

12.  He hates running!

13.  He is a night owl!!

14.  His testimony of the Savior is strong...he is constantly surprising me with the things he shares with us and others.  His knowledge of the scriptures continues to grow as each year passes. 

Austin is 20!!!!! (December 8, 2015)

My first child is no longer a teenager!

I really cannot believe he is a 20 year old! 

1.  He is on his last few months of his mission and he is not ready for it to be over.   He loves the people of Korea...he even loves a lot of their food!! He has learned a lot this last year and has grown in so many ways.  He truly is a servant of the Lord and loves what he is doing.  I am excited to see him in a short few months but, also know it will be a tough transition for him as he tries to figure out what his mission for his life will be.  I am so grateful to be his mom and to have had the opportunity to raise him all these years.  I know I will always be his mom, we have just entered a new time in our lives where I can be more that that!! I love Austin and am so proud of him!!

Happy 20th!!!

Noel is 9! (November 2, 2015)

My sweet Noel.

9 things about Noel!

1.  She is my shadow...she literally follows me around and I love it (most the time)!

2.  Noel wants to grow her hair to her feet.

3.  Noel loves to bake!

4.  She loves shoes...

5.  and clothes!

6.  Noel is a very thoughtful girl.  She loves to do kind things for those around her. 

7.  She is seriously a mini teenager!  She is ready for make up and the whole nine yards, I'm not though!  

8.  She loves her American Girl doll and looooves to do photo shoots with her doll!

9.  She is a social butterfly!

We love our sweet Noel.  She is our sunshine!

Charity is 16 (August 22, 2015)

Ummmm what???!!!??? How in the world did that happen?

I swear I was just walking into the delivery room ready to have this girl!!

16 things about Charity

1.  If you know Charity well you know that her nickname is Char-bear...given to her from her PopPop

2.  Charity has a BEAUTIFUL singing voice.

3.  Charity can play the organ beautifully!

4.  Charity has amazing hair!  Which she likes to change the color of!

5.  Charity is an amazing big sister...She babies her little brothers, watches movies with them and snuggles with them whenever she gets the chance.

6.  Charity works hard on her Personal Progress and plans on earning lots of Honor bees!

7.  Charity has a special relationship with her brother Christian.

8.  Charity has grown close to her brother Austin while he has served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in South Korea.

9.  Charity loves music...especially concerts.

10.  Charity loves skinny jeans...it's totally her thing!

11.  She loves politics.  Which I think surprises people, but she is really passionate about it.

12. She loves Ted Cruz ^^

13.  She loves Converse.  

14. Charity is a great daughter.  She always knows when I am stressed and how to help best and it is fun having an older daughter that I know I will get to be best friends with!!!

15. Charity LOVES the ROYALS!!

16.  She loves her Savior and shows it in her everyday actions!

Love you Char-bear!!

Tyler is 4 (August 2, 2015)

Our little Ty-man is 4!!!

Why do babies have to grow up!?!?  I love watching our little Tyler and seeing this little boy that he is becoming!

 Tyler is not the easiest kid but boy to we love him.  

 4 things about our little Ty-man

1.  He is our pickiest kid when it comes to eating!!!!  I think he would prefer not to eat if that was an option...of course he likes anything junk food though!!

2.  He looooooooves his mom! Like he is stuck on to me like velcro!

3.  He is a sweet big brother to Joshua and he idolized his big brothers...especially Peter!

4.  He  loves trains!

Tyler is such a sweet boy and we are so happy to be his parents! 

Grace is 11 (August 1, 2015)

Grace is such a spunky, fun loving girl!!

11 things about our Grace:

1.  She loves to be outdoors...riding her bike, running around, playing in the dirt, jumping on the trampoline...you name it and she pretty much loves it if it is outside!

2.  She is a tomboy...no lace or ruffles for this girl!
3.  She is tenderhearted.  She does not like to see her siblings get hurt or in get in trouble, she sticks up for them even if it gets her in trouble too!! lol

4.  She chew her nails...like really bad!!!

5.  She likes to be barefoot.

6.  She likes organized chaos in her room...I prefer just organized!!

7.  She has really started to LOVE reading!

8.  She loves animals, especially her cats.

9.  She loves to go to the lake house and she would spend the whole time out on the lake.

10.  She is very creative.  She loves to do any kind of arts and crafts.

11.  She tries her best to be just like her Savior!

We are so proud of the young lady she is becoming.  We are happy to have her in our family!!

Joshua is 1!!

Joshua is a pretty serious kiddo...he isn't the baby who will give you that easy smile but, when he does it sure is sweet! He is a super sweet little boy and I am taking it all in because I know how fast these little ones grow and change!

He is my little blonde boy!

He has us all wrapped around his little finger (I guess that is what happens when you are the baby!!)

Peter is 6 (2015)

Peter Russell 

We just love this little boy!! He truly is a JOY!

6 things about our sweet Pete...

1.  He asked me to call him Pete! He goes by both though...Peter and Pete.

2.  He adores his little brothers! Although he likes to appear to be a tough guy!

3.  He is a momma's boy through and through!

4.  He loves his big brother Christian...like idolizes him!

5.  He crinkles his eyes when he smiles (seriously the cutest thing)!

6.  He scrunches his nose when he talks. It is super cute!

We are so blessed to have this sweet little guy as a part of our family!  He has a knack for making those around him smile! Love you to the moon and back sweet Pete!!

Christian's 13!! (December 2, 2014)

We are so very blessed to have such a sweet TEENAGE son!! He truly has a heart of gold!


1.  Christian still gives his mom and dad a hug every night (and tells us he loves us:))
2.  Christian has a wonderful work ethic...he is a hard worker.
3.  Christian is a good big brother.  He plays with his younger brothers, and they absolutely love it.
(Charity takes over. Also mom SMH... maybe you should just skip to the last birthday lol) (ALSO SMH means Shaking My Head...)
4. Christian isn't afraid to stand up for other people, he won't back down.
5. Christian has a strong testimony, and although he doesn't scream it from the roof, it's strong, and shows in how he acts.
6. Christian adores his Mimi, and is always willing to help her with anything.
7. Christian loves holding the baby, and likes to brag he's a baby whisperer! I'm not complaining though when he gets Harrison to sleep! (technically Harrison wasn't here when he was 13 Charity!!! SMH)
8. Christian loves his family, and is never afraid to say I love you to Charity when she yells it to him when she's dropping him off at a friends house.
9. Christian is like many others in his family and loves movies!
10. Christian is funny, and although we tease him and what we affectionally call a "Christian joke" when it's especially cheesy, we love it!
11. Christian makes it a goal to include others when he's planning a get together, or when he's at activities or church.
12. Christian is always willing to accompany his sister and mimi to movies so they're not alone!
13. Christian is the sweetest little brother ever, and I'm so glad I get to call him my little brother. I've made it a goal to share my struggles with him with self confidence and such so that 1) if he struggled with anything he would know he could talk to me and 2) when he sees a girl that could be struggling, he would know what to do. I've seen him make it a goal to ask as many girls to dance at dances so that no one will ever feel left out, and I'm so proud of him every time he tells me how many girls he asked, and how much fun they were when they started talking. I've seen him start from this little boy who annoyed the heck out of me because he only ever really listened to Austin, to a young man who loves the gospel, his family, and with plans to make the world a better place with one christian joke at a time! Love ya Chris <3

Austin's 19th Birthday (December 8, 2014)

This birthday was bittersweet for me.  It was the first of many that will not be spent with the rest of his family at home.  As he is now out on his own I know that this is the beginning of a different time in his and our lives.  I am so very grateful he is serving a mission for the Lord and I know that the people of South Korea are blessed to have him there just as he is blessed by the many wonderful people he has met there.   

19 things about our missionary

1.  He did not eat spicy food before his mission. At. All!  I don't like spicy so I don't cook it.  He can now handle spicy food!

2.  He has lost some poundage while serving in Korea and is looking quite dapper!

3.  He can speak Korean...I find this amazing.  I know that the gift of tongues is truly one of the amazing blessings that the Lord blesses our missionaries with!

4.  Austin does not have air conditioning or central heating in South Korea! Yikes! He hasn't complained about it all.  

5.  Austin loves to give talks in church even in another language.

6.  Austin loves disney music. :)

7.  Austin plays the piano and has been trying to improve his skills while on his mission.

8.  He loves to sing and has continued to do that while serving the Lord.

9.  He is tenacious.

10.  He wants to do some acting when he comes back.

11.  He is an Eagle Scout.

12.  He is a hard worker.

13.  He is faithful.  He has gone through some hard things on his mission and his faith has never waivered.

14.  He has a strong testimony of his Savior, Jesus Christ.

15.  He wants to be an English professor.

16.  He likes Naruto...he will have some catching up to do when he gets back.

17.  He loves reading and is constantly asking for new church books for us to send him.

18.  He will be attending BYU Provo in the fall of 2016.

19.  This may be obvious but, he has dedicated 2 years of his life to serving a mission for the Lord.

We are very proud of Austin and the man that he has become! I am grateful he choose to serve the Lord for 2 years.  I am SUPER excited for February 2016 when I can give him a big HUG!

Noel's 8th Birthday

Noel was baptized this year and it was an amazing day!! 

8 things about Noel...

1.  She is still my big helper!

2.  She has a tender heart and is a very sweet big sister.

3.  She wants to grow her hair out to her feet!

4.  She wants to go everywhere I go. She is my little shadow.

5.  Noel loves to do my hair and her own hair.

6.  She loves gymnastics.

7.  She has a servants heart.  She likes to serve those around her.

8.  She wants to be like Jesus and that is why she choose to get baptized.  She is such a blessing to our family and I feel truly blessed to have her as part of it. She has helped me to be a better mom these last 8 years! We love our NoelyJelly!

Halloween 2014

Our gangster

 Tyler the Thomas the tank engine

 Peter the scooby doo

 Grace the witch

 Noel the gold medal gymnast

October 2014

This little guy continues to grow bigger and bigger.  Time goes by so fast when they are little, especially that first year.

 We went on a camping trip and it was a ton of fun!

 On our way home from camping...we are pretty tired!

 Royals got into the World Series!

 This sweet girl wanted me to sew her this dress for her baptism and I finished it with time to spare!

 Christian has a strong bond with his little brother.

September 2014

Charity got her learner's permit! YIKES!!! She is actually quite a good driver!!  Here is she is in her brother's car...I am sure he won't mind since he can't drive it for another year and a half! :)

This little boy started sucking his thumb again...so cute!

Why did I post this pic...I couldn't resist he is such a ham and so adorable!

A little homeschooling in the yard with a snake! YUCK!

Joshua is starting to smile lots and lots!

Tyler loves his mommy!

Noel is a mommy's helper that is for sure!

I had surgery on my small toe that I broke several months ago...bed rest for 5 days meant my hubby did a lot of baby holding...he seriously is the bomb!

And of course there has been a lot of schooling going on around here!

Joshua Aaron's Blessing (July 6, 2014)

Joshua was blessed in July of 2014.  It was a beautiful blessing and he looked quite handsome!

Here is the whole crew...minus our missionary!  

 Me being a total goof!

 Sweet little boy!

I really wanted a "sailor" type blessing outfit but didn't want to pay the price on the ones I found. So, I whipped up my version of almost exactly what I wanted.